MasterCard and Blue Label Telecoms Limited (Blue Label) has announced a partnership that will see 22,000 small traders and rural shops in South Africa equipped with Point of Sale (POS) devices, enabling them to accept card payments for the first time.

Blue Label currently provides thousands of POS terminals in South Africa, which are used predominantly to sell prepaid vouchers such as airtime and electricity and are identified by the BLU Approved branding. Servicing millions of customers in rural areas and under-served settlements, these BLU Approved traders have historically operated on a cash-only basis.

“Over and above the estimated 100,000 spaza[1] shops spread across South Africa, there are tens of thousands of small- and medium-sized retailers and service providers. Through our partnership with MasterCard, we will introduce many of these businesses to the safety, security, and convenience of electronic payments, enabling financial inclusion in communities where consumers have largely been unable to use formal payment products,” says Mark Levy, Joint CEO, Blue Label.

“While the number of South Africans with access to formal banking products has increased significantly in the last year, the number of card acceptance locations – especially in rural and peri-urban areas – has not grown in tandem,” says Philip Panaino, Division President, MasterCard, South Africa.